A hard Knox to watch on '20/20'

Tuesday

Apr 30, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Is Amanda Knox innocent or guilty? And how many of us really care? For those who haven't heard, Knox was a American college student studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, when arrested and convicted for the gruesome 2007 murder of a roommate. Her conviction was later overturned by an Italian court, and she's the subject of an hourlong interview on tonight's "20/20" (10 p.m. on ABC).

Is Amanda Knox innocent or guilty? And how many of us really care? For those who haven't heard, Knox was a American college student studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, when arrested and convicted for the gruesome 2007 murder of a roommate. Her conviction was later overturned by an Italian court, and she's the subject of an hourlong interview on tonight's "20/20" (10 p.m. on ABC).

For those who can't get enough, there's also "Amanda Knox: The Untold Story" on "48 Hours on ID" (6 p.m.).

The Knox murder trial sparked a tabloid war in Italy and the United Kingdom, two places not known for media restraint. She was painted as a decadent pot-smoking American and her hometown of Seattle was even dragged into the tabloid mix.

Knox's story has already been turned into a Lifetime movie starring Hayden Panettiere ("Nashville"). And stories like hers are a regular staple of "Locked Up Abroad" on National Geographic. Knox's post-trial (or between-trial, if Italian authorities have their way — her acquittal was itself overturned last month, and a retrial ordered) memoir is just out from Harper. It's called "Waiting to Be Heard." The real question is: how many people are waiting to listen?

— My problem with the new show "Inside Amy Schumer" (10:30 on Comedy Central, TV-14) isn't that her material is relentlessly filthy and marinated in the culture of pornography. It's that it's just not that smart and not very funny. Or original.

There are plenty of comics who work in obscene language and trade in outrageously frank revelations. Louis C.K. and Sarah Silverman come to mind. But even their most scabrous material tends to build toward a profane payoff. Schumer's show is like a broken sewer main. It's a relentless bludgeoning flood, and as such depressing and dehumanized.

— TV-themed DVDs available today include: The Blu-ray edition of "Friends: the Complete First Season."